OKC Thunder: Player grades feature Poku breakout in loss to Hornets

OKC Thunder starting lineup grades:

It’s hard not to love seeing Kenrich Williams on the floor. For the most part, you know what to expect from Williams, who has grown into a consistent offensive weapon for the OKC Thunder.

But sometimes, he falls well short.

Williams spent 34 minutes on the floor for the Thunder on Wednesday, but his offense was uncharacteristically non-existent.

Williams finished 2-for-12 on the night, scoring just six points. He made up for his point shortage on the boards, finishing with nine rebounds, and in the passing game, where he finished with nine assists. He also added three steals.

Suffice to say, he may have gone stagnant in the scoring column, but he certainly made up for it elsewhere.

Pokusevski is a wild card in nearly every single game. Against the Hornets – he was an absolute stud.

Pokusevski did most of his damage from 3-point territory, making seven of his 11 attempts while adding two additional two-point buckets to finish with a career-high 25 points.

In addition to his scoring, Pokusevski was busy on the boards, snagging nine rebounds, and he even got involved in the passing game, dishing out four assists.

It was a welcome sight from the rookie.

Moses Brown has been a stud since his return from the NBA G League. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday.

Brown made just two of his eight shot attempts, finishing with five points. It wasn’t his best offensive output, but he was a beast on the offensive boards, pulling down seven offensive rebounds to go with his three defensive rebounds along with one block.

Svi Mykhailiuk is carving out his own spot on the OKC Thunder roster, and while he didn’t take a huge step on Wednesday, he at least contributed to his consistency.

Mykhailiuk finished with 12 points in the game, hitting four of the eight 3-point shots he attempted. Mykhailiuk shot exclusively from deep, which is what the Thunder have needed without Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort on the court.

Mykhailiuk also contributed three rebounds and five assists in the game.

If there’s one area in particular that Maledon could use some work on, it’s in ball security.

Oftentimes, Maledon does more harm than good when he tries to do too much, as was exhibited on Wednesday night when he turned the ball over six times.

Aside from that, Maledon did well, scoring 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting. He also picked up five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.